Boy Scouts of America's decision on gays divides local supporters

Thursday

Jul 19, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 19, 2012 at 12:34 AM

It took less than one day for parents of current and former Boy Scouts to react to the organization's decision to uphold its policy of excluding gays and lesbians, and some have called it quits. Just after Chris and Lauren Glaros of Worthington heard of the decision, they sent a letter to Robert Mazzuca, chief scout executive for the Boy Scouts of America, resigning their 7-year-old son, Lincoln, from Scouts "due to the organization's continued discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans." Boy Scout officials reaffirmed the policy on Tuesday after a two-year review.

Ally Marotti, The Columbus Dispatch

It took less than one day for parents of current and former Boy Scouts to react to the organization’s decision to uphold its policy of excluding gays and lesbians, and some have called it quits.

Just after Chris and Lauren Glaros of Worthington heard of the decision, they sent a letter to Robert Mazzuca, chief scout executive for the Boy Scouts of America, resigning their 7-year-old son, Lincoln, from Scouts “due to the organization’s continued discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans.”

Boy Scout officials reaffirmed the policy on Tuesday after a two-year review.

“I would’ve thought that given how far the country has come, the Boy Scouts would have come to see that this policy must be changed,” Mr. Glaros, 37, said in an interview.

Some have argued that having gays and lesbians as Scout leaders could lead to their kids asking uncomfortable questions. But Mr. Glaros said he had a great conversation with Lincoln, who understood why he should quit.

Scout officials are aware of community responses and have respect for people who agree and disagree with the decision, Koma said, but it’s not something that local troops have much say in.

“It’s a national policy,” she said. “What’s happening nationally is not something that we can dictate one way or another on a local level.”

Similar organizations such as Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs and Boys and Girls Clubs of America do not have policies that exclude gays.

Peg Warren, 55, said she quit buying Girl Scout cookies when the organization started including gays and lesbians. The Boy Scouts should not follow suit on the issue, she said.

“The Boy Scouts were created under a certain set of guidelines, and because somebody has a differing worldview doesn’t give them a right to change the way Boy Scouts were founded,” said Warren, of Circleville.

The Boy Scouts of America website shows that 69.4 percent of Scouting units — meaning troops and packs — are chartered to faith-based organizations. The largest is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; more than 420,000 boys are in Mormon-sponsored units. The second-largest sponsor is the United Methodist Church, and the third is the Roman Catholic Church.

As an Eagle Scout with a 17-year-old son who once was a Scout, Jean-Marc O’Conner, 45, of Linworth, said Scouts are obedient to the law. If someone disagrees with a policy, they should work to change it.

“(Scouts) don’t quit, they don’t break the law, they try to work within the system,” he said. “The right thing isn’t to say we’re not going to enforce that law; the right thing is to work to change the law.”

An Ohio woman ousted as a den mother because she is a lesbian delivered a petition with 300,000 signatures to the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, today, urging the organization to reinstate her.

Jennifer Tyrrell also wants the group to abandon its policy of excluding gays.

Tyrrell wore a tan Scout uniform as she arrived with her partner and two children, including a 7-year-old Cub Scout.

Tyrrell, who was carrying three boxes of petitions, then went into a private meeting with representatives of the 102-year-old organization.

Tyrrell presented the same petitions to the organization at its annual convention in Orlando, Fla., in May.

Tyrrell is from Bridgeport, Ohio.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.

amarotti@dispatch.com

@AllyMarotti

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